Inkwell



May 23, 1933.

F. A. DRAPER INKWELL Filed Oct. 10, 1931 Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES FREDERICK A. DRAPER, F CLEVELAND; onro INKWELL Application filed'October 10, 1931. Serial No. 568,146.

This invention relates to ink wells, and more particularly to ink wells which are adapted to support a pen in a convenient position and ready for use. 7 It has heretofore been proposed to provide ink wells of the barometric type, in which a pen and pen holder are supported in position with the pen submerged in the ink. However, such ink wells embody disadvantages in that they are apt to clog and are difficult to fill and clean. Furthermore, variations in the atmospheric pressure cause variations in the flow of the ink, and it has also been difficult to adjust the depth of immersion of the pen in the ink, so that the pen will always carry the proper amount of ink.

Accordingly, the general object of my invention is to provide an ink well which can be readily filled and cleaned, and which'is adapted to support a pen in an accessible and convenient position for use and in such manner that the pen point will always carry the proper amount of ink. Another object is to providesuch an ink well in which an ad ust- 25 vent the evaporation of the ink, and which will not clog.

Briefly, my ink well comprises an ink fountain adapted to contain a supply of ink and having a substantially cylindrical form, open at the top and provided with a closure member, and of relatively large diameter. Formed integrally with the fountain, I have rovided a substantially cylindrical conduit aving a relatively small diameter,'which is adapted to support a pen holder'and pen in adefinite position in the upper portion there'- of, the lower portion of the conduit being in communication with the lower part of the fountain. The surfaces of the ink in the fountain and the conduit are always at horizontal level and the entire device is adjust ably mounted so that it may be rocked or swung to maintain thelevel of'ink in, the

ment is provided so that the required depth conduit substantially constant with relation to the pen, regardless of varying amounts of ink in the fountain. The conduit extends forwardly at an angle to the fountain, so that the pen holder will be in a convenient position and the fountain and conduit are removable from the support for easy cleaning and filling. i

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device; Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the device in a different position from Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4,4 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the ink well may be mounted on a base 10 formed of glass, composition or any suitable material. Extending upwardly from the base are two supports, 11 and 12. These may be rigidv ly mounted on the base in any suitable manner, as by setting them in shallow recesses in the'base, as at 13, screws 14 being employedito hold the supports firmly in place.

To provide a pivotal mounting for the ink well, the-supports may be provided with pins 15 and 16, mounted in the upper ends thereof; the pins, if desired, having enlarge ments 17 and 18 on their inner ends, which are adapted to engage recesses in bosses 19 and 20,formed on oppositesides of the ink well, which is indicated enerally at 25."

In order to provide or convenient: removal of the inkwellfrom its support for cleaning and filling, the pin 15 may be slid ably mounted in "the support 11, so thatit may be withdrawn to release the well. "A spring-21 surrounding the shank of the pin and engaging thesupport and the enlarge ment 17 normally holds the pin in engage ment with the ink well, and a knob 22 may be suitably secured to the outer end of the pm.

' The ink supply for the' ink well is carried in a fountain portion 26, which is a substan-: tially cylindrical reservoir of sufficient diam- 95. eter and height to contain a reasonableamount of ink. In order to supporta pen: holder in position for convenient use and with the pen always dipped into the ink to the proper depth, I haveprovided a substan 1 0 tially cylindrical conduit 28, which may be formed integrally with the fountain portion and which is connected to the lower-part of the ink reservoir by passage 29. The upper portion of the conduit 28 is flanged outwardly, as at 30, so that it will conveniently receive a pen holder. A shoulder may be provided, as at 81, to prevent the pen holder from being inserted too far in the conduit.

It will be seen that with the foregoing arrangement the pen will always extend the same distance into the conduit whenever the holder is in thereof.

As the conduit and fountain are connected by the passageway 29,and as there is no vacuumin either portion, it will be seen that the ink in the'conduit and the fountain portion will always'be at equal levels. Therefore, by rocking the entire ink well on its trunnion supports,- thereby raising or lowering the conduit with respect to the fountain, the level of the ink in the conduit can be adjusted with relation to the position of the pen point.

, When the fountain is substantially full, the

well may be in the position shown in Fig. l of the drawing, or may be rotated further to the right. As the fountain is gradually emptied in use, the well is gradually rotated to the left or in a counter-clockwise direction,

finally reaching the position shown in Fig.

3. .In the extreme positions, and in the various, intermediate positions, the ink will extendsubst-antially the same distance into the conduit, but the amount of ink in the fountain will gradually decrease, although the surface of the ink in both the fountain and conduit will always lie in the same horizontal plane.

iIn order to provide a convenient adjustment for the ink well, which will firmly hold it in any of its adjusted positions, I prefer to cast teeth 35 on the base of the well, the teeth extending-in an arc, thecenter of which is the pointof rotation of the'well about the trunnion support. To engage the teeth 35, a spring member 36, which may be secured to the base in any convenient manner, is provided. This member may have an upwardly extending lip 37, which is adapted to engage spaces between the teeth on the well and may be provided with an indented portion138 for engagement with a finger of a user. In order to adjust the level of the ink in the conduit, it is only necessary to depress the spring member 36, by means of pressure on the indented portion 38 to remove the up- 7 wardly extending lip from engagement with the teeth, thereafter to rotate the well to the desired position, and then to release the spring member so that it will again engage the teeth. Ordinarily, at each adjustmentthe ink. well will be rotated an amount corresponding to the thickness of one tooth. Be-

1 cause of the relatively large area of the founposition in the flared portion tain portion, the level of ink will be reduced slowly, and frequent adjustments will be unnecessary.

I11 order to prevent evaporation of the ink, the open upper end of the fountain is provided with a closure member 27. If an ordinary cork were used to close the fountain tothe ink, and therefore the level of the ink will be unaffected by changes in atmospheric conditions. If desired, the closure member 27 may be provided with a knob 42 to provide for its convenient removal. 7

From the foregoing description of a preferred form of my invention, it will be seen that I have provided an ink Well which is adapted to support a pen holder and associated pen in easily accessible position for convenient use, with the pen point alwaysv inserted to the required depth. It will also be seen that I have provided an adjustable ink well which may be rotated to change the 1 level of the ink in the pen supporting portion thereof, so that the pen point will always be immersed to the required depth, regapilless of varying amounts of ink in the we r An ink well made according to my inven' tion may be easily constructed and manufactured economically and is very convenient to use. My ink well. may be readily filled and as it has no parts to clog it will re-' quire only infrequent cleaning. However, it is to be noted that such cleaning can be ac-.

complished easily as the entire'ink wellcan be removed from its base with little or no trouble and thoroughly washed out. Further, I have providedian ink well in which the evaporation of the ink Will. be

largely eliminated, the fountain'portion of the well being sealed by a closure member sufficiently to prevent evaporation, and the" conduit or pen supporting portion of the well being sealed by the pen holder itself.

I claim: V

1. In a device of the character described, the combination'of an ink well comprising a fountainportion open to atmospheric pressure and adapted to contain a supply of ink,

a conduit portion in communicationthere with'and adapted to'support a pen and pen holder, a base, means for adj ustably support ing said ink well on said base for rotation about a horizontal axis, whereby the relative positions of the conduit and the fountain may be varied, and means for securing said ink well in a plurality of adjusted positions, said securing means comprising a series of teeth on the ink well, and a U-shaped metallic spring member having one leg shorter than the other, the short leg being secured to the base, and the longer leg having a tongue struck upwardly therefrom and adapted to engage the teeth, said longer leg extending beyond the well to form a finger release adapted to press the tongue downward out of engagement with the teeth.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a base, supports extending upwardly from the base, an ink well disposed between said supports, and means on the upper portion of said supports for pivotally supporting said ink well for rotating about a horizontal axis, said means comprising hollow bosses on the outer wall of the well near the top, pins carried by the supports, enlarged ends on the pins engaging said bosses, one of said pins being slidably held in its support, and a spring surrounding the shank of the slidable pin and adapted to be compressed between the head of the pin and the support, said ink well comprising a fountain portion open to atmospheric pressure and a conduit portion in communication therewith, the axes of said conduit portion and said fountain portion being space apart in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal axis of rotation of the ink! well, the fountain portion being adapted to contain a supply of ink and the conduit portion being adapted to support a pen and pen holder in definite position therein, and means for securing the ink well in a number of various positions with respect to said horizontal axis. 7

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

FREDERICK A. DRAPER. 

